A little girl named Qian Hongyan lives a quiet and happy life with her family in Yunnan Province, China.
But when she was only 3 years old, she experienced a traumatic event that would change her life forever.
Qian was involved in a serious accident. The doctors worked hard and managed to save her life, but had to cut off her legs and part of her lower body. Qian’s family could not pay for medical care, prostheses or anything else that would help her with her disability.
Qian was stuck inside her house with no ability to move. She thought she would never be able to leave her house again. One day, her grandfather had an idea that was the beginning of something amazing, something that touched the whole world.
The little girl’s story is a wonderful story about courage and willpower.
After her accident, Qian was sure she will never be able to move on her own. She was trapped in her home unable to do anything by herself. The family did not have the money to provide Qian with what would help her with the disability, but they never lost hope. One day, her grandfather bought a basketball.
He cut part of the ball and made two wooden handles for Kian’s hands. Then, he showed his granddaughter how she could move with the help of his new invention.
“From the first moment I started using it, I became very happy. For the first time, I felt like I could get out of bed, get out of the room and get to the yard of the house, and I had a much bigger space to play in, a much bigger world”, Qian said.
The story of the amazing little girl made headlines all over the world and people started calling her the ‘basketball girl’.
The pictures of Qian and the basketball spread quickly around the world, and people from all over the world started donating money so she could afford real prosthetic legs so she could walk again.
Qian said it was hard to get used to the prosthetic legs, but she refused to give up. In the end, she managed to fulfill her dream – to walk again.
The little warrior also revealed that she would like to learn to swim. But it will not be easy. It took a lot of willpower and perseverance, but she succeeded. And not only did she learn to swim, she did so well that she qualified for the Paralympic Games in 2009. After this incredible achievement, her success continued.
She now competes at a professional level and has won several big competitions, which means she has made quite a bit of money as well.
Qian admits that the way to learn to swim and compete professionally was very difficult, but the secret was to never give up. Her willpower will inspire us to never lose hope.
Qian now has prosthetic legs that look more real than ever!
Qian is an inspiration and we are lucky to see what she has achieved. She has proven that anything is possible as long as you do not give up.
